Basswood Tree Blossom

This year's blossoms have been quite numerous on most of the plants and trees.  We all know now that was not a good thing for the fruit trees in our area,  Thankfully the big basswood held out for its "usual" time to bloom.  It probably helped that it is tucked in between our house and the pine windbreak.  The main tree is so tall we only get to see the blossoms as they land on our deck but the smaller tree beside it will share a few blooms closer to ground level.

Hand Dyed Yarn, five new one of a kind colorways.

May is generally a slow month, allowing us to slowly get ready for the summer season.  This year the trees and flower leaves were so early and inspired me to dye the New Greens pictured earlier.  At the same time the flowers were racing to see which could bloom first.  This colorway is based on the Crocus Flowers which of course, is its name.

This is one of the 5 new hand dyed colorways added to the shop and website. http://www.marrhaven.com/handyedyarn3.html

Needle Felt Sculpture

A few weeks ago I shared a photo of a needle felted purse by Teri Jackson of Georgia, since then Teri has taken needle felting to a whole new level.  She says what started as a hobby has developed into a business.

This is Zander, he is a warrior from the planet Zocor.  Teri admits she gets quite attached to her sculptured dolls, even writes stories about them when she sell them.


Teri's doll and animal characters are all impressive.  You can see them on etsy.   http://www.etsy.com/shop/FreeSpiritFelts?ref=pr_shop_more

I just love it when others get involved with felting in any form and especially when it becomes a passion for them.

Hand Dyed Yarn to date

I work in "spurts" at my fiber loves; perhaps felting a number of different pieces one after another.  Then no felting for awhile but knitting or dyeing wool/yarn takes front stage.  The  weather also adjusts my production, or at least what was planned in my head.

The past few weeks have been productive both inside and out.  The sheep are sheared, their wool has been processed into roving and that is now in the shop, new fences set up to keep the lambs corralled, snow peas are up in the garden and several new hand dyed yarn skeins are ready.

This is the latest one added to the shop and website, called New Greens, inspired by the many tree leaves that are out so early.   Earlier 2 other colors in the purple/blue range were added and almost ready is a teal combo and a brown.  Of course, if you have viewed my hand dyed yarn or wool before, you know there is never a solid color (or rarely) I love playing with colors.

Needle Felt Purse

I always enjoy seeing the finished projects of our customers; especially ones that are first creations in a new wool art form for them. Teri Jackson of Georgia certainly did not disappoint.

 It is obvious from the photo that she has very firmly needle felted the merino wool; the design features are well embedded.  She said to make sure the handles were joined completely she needled them until she felt her hand was going to fall off.  She was going to do a little wet felting to insure the handle strength. I think she should be very proud of her work and will enjoy her new purse.

Before and After Sheep Shearing

The unusually warm weather we experienced so far this year probably made the ewes look forward to removing their wool coats.  Fortunately the few days before the shearing date, the weather cooled and the photo taken the day before, they look very comfortable.

The month old lambs tend to "hang" together.

Lunch time.

The day after shearing, sun feels sooo good!

Merino rambouillet Yarn Special for St Patrick's Day

To honor my long ago Irish ancestry I enjoy celebrating St. Patrick's Day.  This year our green heather merino rambouillet yarns can be a celebration for you, too.

For St. Patrick’s Day, the Green Heather sport cones and Green Heather worsted skeins are 17% off. A one pound sport cone is $28.22 and 4 ounce skein is $7.05 for this week. Go to http://www.marrhaven.com/yarn.html#special to order.